Solidarity with Marian Price: an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere

Hundreds of people gathered in Derry’s Bogside today in what was one of the largest demonstrations held yet in support of the imprisoned political prisoner and former IRA hunger striker Marian Price to demand her immediate release.

Solidarity with Marian Price: an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere

Hundreds of people gathered in Derry’s Bogside today in what was one of the largest demonstrations held yet in support of the imprisoned political prisoner Marian Price to demand her immediate release. Marian, a former IRA hunger striker had been interned following an Easter Commemoration in Derry last year on the order of Secretary of State, Owen Paterson. She was held at Maghaberry, an all-male prison, in isolation for over ten months. Due to serious concerns about her ailing health and continuing street protests she was eventually transferred to Hydebank Woman's Prison back in February ‘on clinical advice’.

Today’s event itself was organised by a number of independent activists from Belfast and Derry and had been led by renowned human rights campaigner Monsignor Raymond Murray and a number of Bloody Sunday relatives.

The march departed from Free Derry Corner making its way through the streets to the Guildhall Square for a rally which was attended by members of the Workers Solidarity Movement.

Amongst the hundreds who crammed into the city centre, the march and rally brought together a number of high-profile human rights activists, former political prisoners as well representatives from various political parties and trade unionists in a show of solidarity not seen since the 1980s prison struggle.

The rally was also addressed by Marian’s husband, Jerry McGlinchey who thanked those in who supported the campaign for justice by demanding Marian’s immediate release.

Despite periods of heavy rain today’s rally ended on a high note by a brief call directly from Marian herself where she heard a very loud and unison shout out by those gathered: “FREE MARIAN PRICE!”

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The reality behind the new beginning to policing was once again revealed on the streets of the North yesterday whenever children returning from a bus trip to Dublin where terrorised by heavily armed PSNI members for up two hours. The bus trip organised by the Republican Network for Unity contained 13 children and 6 adults were returning from a trip to Kilmainham Gaol was stopped and searched allegedly for explosives just outside Banbridge by up to 60-70 PSNI officers with a forensic lab and helicopters.

Give me your name and address or I’ll rape you” - the words of a Garda Sgt as he discussed with at least two other Gardai how they were going to interrogate one of two female Shell to Sea campaigners they had arrested and who were being brought to Belmullet Garda station. Just second earlier while they were discussing how to interrogate the women one Garda suggested they threaten her with deportation. The Sgt responds with the addition of the rape threat which he repeats before another so far unidentified Garda chimes in with “hold it there, give me your name and address there, I’ll rape you” prompting the Sgt to repeat it one last time as “or I’ll definitely rape you.” [Listen to the 2 minute audio]

Over the last couple of weeks the Irish police (Gardai) have used violence on three seperete occasions against bank protesters in Ireland. Most recently on Tuesday evening they attempted to prevent an anti-capitalist bloc called by the Workers Solidarity Movement from marching. Despite the use of horse this attempt failed. Below are reports from the WSM web site on these events written by WSM members who were present.

In Ireland an Inquiry by the Garda Ombudsman's office into the death of Terence Wheelock in September 2005 has cleared the Gardai of wrongdoing. Terence Wheelock was taken to hospital from a cell in Store Street Garda barracks in June of 2005 he never regained conciousness and died on September 16th 2005.

Over 200 people packed into the Royal Dublin Hotel on Dublin’s O’Connell Street in early December for a public meeting on the topic ‘Democracy and Policing: How accountable are the Gardaí to the Irish people?’

On Friday the WSM joined a demonstration in solidarity with those arrested in Copenhagen since the eviction of Ungdomshuset, an autonomous social centre, on Thursday 1st of March. Around 20-30 people from Anarchist Prisoner Support, Polish Anarchist Federation and the WSM gathered outside the Danish embassy on St. Stephen's Green.

To people living in the North Inner City, the recent revelations at the Dublin City coroner’s court at the inquest into the death of young Terence Wheelock will not come as a surprise. Terence went into a coma from which he never recovered, after sustaining injuries in Store Street Garda station. One witness to his arrest said the Gardai ‘whacked Terence’s head off the side of the van and twisted his broken arm behind his back’.

Just over a year ago, on the 2nd of June 2005 Terence Wheelock was arrested on suspicion of car theft and brought to Dublin’s Store Street Garda station. Just two hours after his arrest he was found unconscious in his cell. He entered a coma and passed away in September 2005.

Despite the hopes of the left for a revolt Labour MP's in Britain have voted for the introduction of ID cards. This does not mean the struggle against them is over, we can use direct action to them. But it would be a mistake to think that it is only the state which seeks to track our every movement. Capital does so too and in the free market, demand will be supplied

Hundreds of thousands of people in this small country have been protesting against this policy and the government has encountered a campaign of civil disobedience without precedent, in which the majority of the population refuse to pay. [Castellano]

Last Thursday the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission released an interim report on the Garda rape-threat tape recordings that were revealed last April. GSOC is the official state body to investigate complaints against the police force of southern Ireland (Garda). The GSOC report contains a major error that suggests GSOC are the source of repeated attempts to spin the story in the media as somehow being the fault of the women the Garda were recorded discussing threatening to rape. The timing of the release of the report was also suspect, coming in the week Shell resumed construction and the day before a national day of action in Erris durig which four Shell to Sea campaigners were injured by Garda and/or private security violence. Such was the level of spin applied that some media made the mistake of leading with the news that the Garda had been cleared of something no-one had ever accused them of - directly threatening the two women with rape.

Around 30 Republican prisoners continue to engage in a ‘dirty protest’ in Maghaberry prison over the failure of the Northern Ireland Administration and the Prison Officers Association to implement a facilitated agreement reached between all parties last August. This is part of a wider criminalisation policy to punish, brutalize and isolate prisoners which includes regular beatings and strip-searching - which remains the outstanding issue to be resolved. Similarly to the 1980/81 prison struggles, the prisoners are simply asking for their rights and dignity to be respected.

A consortium of Shell, Statoil, and Marathon do a deal with the government allowing them exclusive exploitation rights to the Corrib gas field, off Mayo. Not only that, but they are allowed to write off their costs against taxes, meaning that the whole project is being funded by the PAYE taxpayer, who will receive nothing, not even lower gas prices. It may sound a bit iffy but there is no garda investigation into possible bribery or corruption.

The latest issue of Workers Solidarty runs a cover story on recent killings of suspects by the Irish Gardai (police). This has become as issue in the last year due to campaigns by the families of two men who were killed in custody, Terence Wheelock and John Moloney.

[Français] The WSM condemns in the strongest terms the police violence* against students on Dublin's Merrion Row earlier this afternoon. Several members of the organisation where present with almost 1000 others in support of those who entered and occupied the Department of Finance. Mark Malone, student and member of the WSM, present at the protests earlier today said.

Join the protest in Dublin on Saturday April 19th
2pm,US Embassy, Ballsbridge.
Journalist and former Black Panther, Mumia Abu-Jamal, still faces execution by the US state. Last month the Appeal Court in Philadelphia ruled against a new trial. Thee will now be a new sentencing hearing, which will result in either execution or life in prison without parole.
This man has been on death row since 1982. It is widely believed that he was railroaded to jail because of his radical views and personal history. Among those who have taken up his case are: The National Union of Journalists, the Graphical, Paper & Media Union, International Organisation of Journalists, Nelson Mandela, Salman Rushdie, Rage Against the Machine, Christy Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Proinsias DeRossa MEP, Joe Higgins (Socialist Party), the Workers Solidarity Movement and the Connolly Youth Movement.